Worth the Hours
by Tormalyne
Summary: Riku and Sora go to a modern day boarding school and act like themselves. [AU]


Kingdom Hearts and all associated characters belong to Square and Disney. I make no claim to them, as they are being used without permission. If the companies really want to lose the free advertising, they're welcome to make a big deal about it. 

  
  
Sora was probably going to be late for class again. He'd been late three days ago, and then again four days before that. At Saint Christopher's Boarding School for Talented Young Persons, such behavior was not only unwelcome, but also punished severely. His teacher couldn't understand why he was late so often now, since he'd always been at least marginally prompt before this year, but she also didn't know that previously he had been dragged out of bed and made to start walking to the main campus by his friend Riku. While hewaited for the chattering girls blocking the entrance to the East Wing to allow enough space for him to get through the hall, Sora wondered if there was a schedule out detailing the agenda of the whims that made Riku sit where all of his fans generally got in the way. If there was one, Sora wanted to know why he was the only one who didn't have it. It would certainly at least have let him plan to get to class early on the right days. 

He finally succeeded in shoving his way through the outer fringes of the small mob, and glanced back. He could make out Riku's silvery hair where the other boy was leaning against the wall and soaking up the attention like a dry sponge in water. Some girl was offering Riku a fancy-looking invitation, and he saw Riku accept it with a smirk before Sora turned the corner to get to his class. This probably meant he'd be spending the weekend with Donald again. Really, it was nice that Riku let him hang out and everything while they were actually in school, but it would have been even nicer if his friend ever bothered to spend time with him when they were out of class. This distance was a recent development, and it bothered Sora quite a bit since they used to spend the majority of every day together. He had to put it out of his mind though, in his frantic dash for the classroom before he was late again. 

  
Sora's first class with Riku was second period English. They were working together on a research project about ancient Greek poetry, and Sora thought that it was probably one of the most boring things in the world. The teacher had left the class to its own devices, and Sora was busy undoing his tie and loosening the starched white collar of his uniform shirt. He was also energetically explaining just WHY they should be reading the Harry Potter books instead of Homer, along with accompanying hand motions. Selphie, who was working next to them, had to frantically duck out of his way each time he reiterated an especially noteworthy point. 

Riku was sitting at a desk and apparently ignoring him. He was flipping through a copy of The Odyssey without lifting his eyes from the words, and wasn't even bothered by the close proximity of Sora's hands to his face. As far as Sora could tell, Riku actually was interested in what he was reading. The guy was smart, but really, Sora thought, truly liking this work, which was about as fascinating as a documentary on tapeworms, was going a bit too far. When Sora got no response to his declarations except a few muttered, noncommittal noises, he decided to switch to a new tactic. 

"Hey, Riku, because of YOU, I have detention tomorrow!" 

This was apparently an interesting enough subject to hold the other boy's attention, and Riku put the book down on the table after carefully marking his place. 

"What did I ever do that landed you in detention?" He stared at Sora with one eyebrow raised, and leaned a bit farther back in his chair. 

"Because of you and your stupid fans, I couldn't get to class on time, AGAIN! Now I'm gonna have to spend Saturday with Madame Ficent. It's like you purposely go and sit where you know you'll be in my way!" 

Riku smiled at him and leaned forward. 

"Well, I guess maybe everyone I was talking to might have caused some trouble, but don't you think you're making a bit much of this?" 

"What!? If you hadn't been standing around with those girls in the middle of the hall, I could've gotten to class on time. This is the fifth time I've been late because of you!" 

"Really." Riku was watching him with an unusually intense look, and there was an odd tone in his voice; it made Sora feel a bit like he was a bug under a magnifying glass, with someone watching him who couldn't decide whether to let him go or tilt the glass enough to start roasting him. Irritably, he tried to brush the feeling off. He'd known Riku for long enough that the tricks he used to scare off new kids shouldn't affect him. 

"Yeah, really! You're gonna be off at whatever party it is you've been invited to this time, and I'm gonna be spending Saturday being absolutely miserable!" 

Riku looked amused at this outburst, and really, Sora thought, he could just hit him. 

"Now, Sora, I'm sure there's some way that I can…" Riku paused for a moment and leered at him, "make it up to you." Of course, Sora thought, it wasn't enough for the other boy to make him late to class, but Riku had to taunt him about it, too. Riku couldn't just apologize or anything; he had to make sure that Sora KNEW that he didn't care how much trouble he had caused, and was, in fact, entertained by the whole mess.

That was it. Sora hauled back to punch him, and didn't notice Selphie frantically waving her arms and mouthing something at them. 

Ms. Lockhart's voice interrupted his moment of violence. "Sora, see me after class. I think this will be another detention young man. I am simply shocked by your behavior! I can't imagine what would make you act so irresponsibly." A few of the girls in the back of the room exchanged glances. Everyone except the teacher knew that Sora didn't ever think before reacting to Riku.

Sora turned and saw Ms. Lockhart standing directly behind him. When he turned back to Riku, the jerk was quietly snickering. He glanced over at the frowning teacher, and, having had Riku's smirk make up his mind for him, wistfully waved goodbye to yet another free Saturday afternoon. Riku went sprawling as he punched him right where it would leave a nice black eye. Sora knew from experience.

Ms. Lockhart's face turned bright red, and Riku seemed to have swallowed a particularly large frog. Even as he was grabbed by the elbow and marched off to the principal's office, Sora looked over his shoulder and gave Riku the widest grin he could manage. Riku looked absolutely furious. 

  
Saturday detention was probably the most sadistic form of torture that any part of the school system had ever managed to dream up. Not only was Sora being forced to write three essays on why he would never be late to class again, why he would listen to his teachers, and, at least in his opinion, why he wouldn't hit smug bastards who didn't have the decency to feel any ounce of remorse for getting their best friends in trouble, but he had to listen to a lecture from Madame Ficent while doing so. Actually, Sora wasn't so sure that he should be thinking of Riku as his best friend. At the moment he would rather punch the boy than do anything else. 

The worst part of it was that Sora just knew that Riku was out having fun, probably with the new girl, Kairi, while he was stuck inside, dying of boredom. The entire world, it seemed, was taunting him. Through the window, he could see the sun shining, squirrels chasing each other, and some of his friends playing a game of soccer. Meanwhile, he was stuck in the library, with his hand cramping up, the dust in the air giving him the urge to sneeze, and the five other boys making sure to give him the nastiest looks they could manage, merely for existing. He had a feeling, though, that if he made any sound, or did anything slightly more interesting than sitting like a sack of magical, writing potatoes, he'd end up with another detention for "being too noisy" or "disturbing the peace." 

After another awful four hours of making up some nonsense for his essays, Sora had finally been released from his personal hell. He had run out of the building and was now walking through the arch that served as the entrance to the enormous library and the surrounding grounds. He turned to head to the dorms, still at his usual almost-jogging walk, and tripped over an inconveniently outstretched foot. He had time to notice that the rapidly approaching stones of the path were really quite in need of some cleaning before he was caught with his face inches away from smashing into the ground. 

Riku's voice, when it came, was cool, amused, and very close to his left ear. 

"Where're you going in such a hurry, hotshot? Have a date that detention was keeping you from?" 

The words were said in a long, slow drawl, and the exhalations were tickling the back of Sora's neck. Riku pulled him up and set him on his feet before releasing his hold on Sora's arm and waist. Sora turned, ready to start yelling at the other boy, only to have the indignation he felt turn to something quite like confusion mixed with a kind of smoldering resentment at the sight of the amused smile that Riku wore.

"Oh, so it wasn't enough to get me in trouble, buy you had to come rub it in, too!?" Sora was almost yelling at him. "It wasn't enough to know that I'd be locked up all day while you were off at whatever party you're going to, but you needed to come make sure that poor Sora was serving his detention like a good little boy?"

Riku's grin had widened as he ranted on, but Sora came screeching to a halt in his tirade as the expression changed into one of Riku's rare, honest smiles.

He said, "Is that what you think I've been waiting around here for?" His tone had lost none of the amusement, but it was considerably warmer now. He continued, "You think I've been standing out here for two hours just so I could laugh at you about being bored out of your mind? Believe me, Sora, I wouldn't waste my time on something so idiotic."

Sora found the ground quite fascinating, especially while his cheeks were warming with an embarrassed blush. He was silent for a moment, until he thought he had the red a bit more under control, before he answered Riku.

"Then why are you out here? Don't tell me you've been waiting here by yourself for hours because you actually like the scenery!"

Riku took a step closer to him, and Sora suddenly noticed just how near to each other they were standing. He also realized that he had no room to back away unless he felt like making a very high, very impressive jump over the very tall stone wall.

"I was waiting for you, of course, moron." Sora just stared at him. "I figured that after writing who knows how many theses on some stupid crap, you'd be ready to go do something fun. I do need to make it up to you, anyway, since it is kind of my fault that you got in trouble in the first place."

Sora stood speechless for a moment before grinning up at the taller boy and saying, "You mean it was your fault that I punched you? Glad you think so, 'cause you did deserve it!"

Riku looked outraged for a moment before he made a move for Sora.

"Oh, don't worry, that I still owe you for." Sora's breath hitched as he felt Riku's arms come up around him. He didn't realize until he was securely in a headlock what the other boy was planning.

Riku proceeded to give him the worst noogie of his life. When he finally escaped, Sora glared at his friend, who was laughing and watching him uselessly try to get his hair a bit under control after the abuse it had received.

Riku held out his hand to Sora, and smirked.

"Well, come on. Now that we're even, what do you say to hanging out with me for a while?"

Immediately, Sora took the outstretched hand and grinned.

"Yeah," he replied, "sounds good to me! How long until that party you're going to?"

"I'm not going. No one I feel like spending time with is going to be there."

Riku turned his back and started walking, and Sora, after a stunned moment, ran to catch up with his retreating figure. 


End file.
